Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, India's First Lady DGP, Passes Away

India's first woman Director General of Police (DGP), Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, passed away in Mumbai, after a prolonged illness. She took her last breath on Monday night, reports ANI. She was an IPS officer of the 1973 batch and had made history when she was appointed as the DGP of Uttarakhand in the year 2004. She was the second woman IPS officer in the country after Kiran Bedi. Bhattacharya retired as DGP in 2007 and joined active politics. She contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Haridwar on AAP ( Aam Aadmi Party) ticket but had lost the seat.

Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya was promoted to be the first woman Director General of Police in Uttrakhand after serving as Additional Director General of Police.

The Uttrakhand police paid a tribute to their female officer with a Twitter post. "Uttarakhand Police expresses condolences on her demise and remembers her phenomenal contribution," it read.

प्रदेश की पूर्व DGP श्रीमती कंचन चौधरी भट्टाचार्य, 1973 बैच की IPS अधिकारी, जो कुछ समय से बीमार चल रही थी, के निधन पर #UttarakhandPolice उनके परिजनों के प्रति शोक संवेदना व्यक्त करते हुए उत्तराखंड पुलिस में उनके द्वारा दिए गए अभूतपूर्व योगदान को याद करती है।@IPS_Association pic.twitter.com/dmk3IRthg6

— Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) August 26, 2019

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• First woman Director General of Police (DGP), Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, passes away due to prolonged illness.
• She was the second woman IPS officer in the country after Kiran Bedi. 
• The television series Udaan, which was written and directed by Kavita Chaudhary, was based on her life. 
• She handled high profile cases like the murder of national badminton champion Syed Modi in 1987 and the Reliance-Bombay Dyeing case.

Read Also: Mumbai Might Get Its First Woman Police Chief In Rashmi Shukla IPS

Her Inspirational Journey

Born in Himachal, she was the first child of Madan Mohan Chaudhary. She completed her under graduation from Government College for Women, Amritsar. Later she came to Delhi to do her post-graduation in English Literature from Indraprastha College, Delhi University.

Other than being a no-nonsense cop, she also enjoyed writing poems and taking part in dramatics. She made a guest appearance in Udaan (TV series),  which was written by her sister Kavita Chaudhary, and based on her life.

It is said that her father was caught up in a property matter and allegedly got beaten up very badly once. No police officer at that time was ready to file an FIR. This incident had disturbed her deeply and inspired her to join forces in order to fight for justice. Later, she was appointed as the first woman Deputy General Inspector of Police in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. She was promoted to be the first woman Director General of Police in Uttrakhand after serving as Additional Director General of Police.

Other than being a no-nonsense cop, she also enjoyed writing poems and taking part in dramatics. She made a guest appearance in Udaan (TV series),  written by her sister Kavita Chaudhary, which was based on her life.

Achievements

Chaudhary handled many sensitive cases in her 33 years of service. This includes high profile cases like the murder of seven times national badminton champion Syed Modi in 1987 and the Reliance-Bombay Dyeing case.

She was selected to represent India at the Interpol meeting held in 2004 in Cancun, Mexico. She was felicitated with the President's Medal for long and meritorious services in 1989 and President's Medal for distinguished services in 1997. She was also awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Award in 2004 for Excellent All-Round Performance.

Read Also: Women IPS Officers Bag UK’s Prestigious Chevening Scholarships

Divya Tripathi is an intern with SheThePeople.TV